Phonograph record cabinet



Dec. 30, 1941. H. F. BAKER PHONOGRAPH RECORD CABINET Filed May lf3, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Snventor Herberjt F Bahar y i Gttcvnrneg Dec. 3o, 1941. HQ F BAKER y 2,268,008

PHONOGRAvPH RECORD CABINELT Filed May 13, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 J a nventor f ,12V 1S Herbert E Baku Patented Dec. 30, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHONOGRAPH RECORD CABINET Herbert F. Baker, Detroit, Mich.

Application May 13, 1940, Serial No. 334,840

(Cl. B12- 15) 6 Claims.

This invention relates to phonograph record cabinets and particularly cabinets for disk records.

An object of the invention is to adapt a cabinet to compactly receive a considerable number of disk records while preventing engagement thereof one with another and particularly safeguarding the sound track faces.

Another object is to equip a disk record cabinet with a simple means for selectively ejecting the records to removal positions.

A further object is to equip a disk record cabinet with a simple and inexpensive provision for guiding records edgewise into and out of the cabinet, such provision engaging only the rims of the records. These and various other objects the invention attains by the construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front View of the improved cabinet with its center portion broken away.

Fig. 2 is a top plan View yof the same partially in section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a View of the cabinet in vertical cross section.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of arecord-ejecting lever.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top view of a portion of the rod journaling the recordejecting levers, particularly showing how spacers for the levers are formed by the rod supports.

In these views the reference character I designates a rectangular cabinet, forming in its upper portion a disk record chamber 2 and having a drawer 3 tted in its lower portion. Said chamber is open at the front of the cabinet and said drawer may be withdrawn forwardly from the cabinet. Just above the drawer 3. a number-of cross bars A (three being shown) extend in parallelism to the end walls of the cabinet and their forward portions rigidly carry a board 5 for supporting disk records 5a on edge. In the upper front portion of the cabinet is disposed a similar board B spaced below the cabinet top by a pair of bars I respectively engaging the respective ends of the cabinet and by a bar 8 extending between said ends at the front of the cabinet. The boards 5 and E are vertically spaced to accommodate disk records of a certain diameter and their opposed faces have a slight downward inclination to induce a gravity travel of the records into the cabinet. The boards 5 and 6 are similarly provided along their inner edges with stop strips 9 projecting sufficiently toward each A in said boards.

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other to engage the rims of the disks and limit inward travel. Correspondingly carried by the boards 5 and 6, in slightly spaced relation to their opposed faces, are upper and lower sets of parallel guide wires I0 having their inner ends set into said stop strips and their forward ends bent at right angles and xedly inserted For reason which will presently appear the upper guide wires lil project rearwardly a short distance beyond the corresponding strip 9 and the front edges of the boards 5 and Ii `are grooved from end to end as indicated at II.

To guide records into the slideways formed between the guide wires I0 and to safeguard the records against any lateral deviation from the planes established by said slideways, an additional set of guide elements are elongated between the forward edges of the boards 5 and 5 and are so designed as to engage only the rim portions of the records. Preferably said elements consist of wires or cords I2 two of which are disposed in a slightly divergent and crossed relation in the plane established by each opposed pair of upper and lower guide wires I0, as best appears in Fig. l. The vertically bent forward end portions of the wires lil serve in the construction illustrated (see Fig. 3) as anchorages for the ends of the wires I2, the grooves II permitting the wires I2 to -extend into the boards 5 and 6 to engage said end portions. This arrangement permits the entire set of guide elements I2 to be formed by extending a single length of wire alternately upwardly and downf wardly between the boards 5 and 6 forming parallel members of each guide element I2 and then extending said wire in a similar manner back to the initial end of the cabinet to form the crossing members of said elements. The elements I2 are so spaced forwardly from the stop strips 9 that they will extend vertically between records engaging said stop strips, adjacent to the outermost points of the records.

Individually effective on records stored within the described cabinet are ejectors each comprising a lever lvfulcrumed upon the upper strip 9 and having a long arm downwardly extending from its fulcrum to engagea record and a short upwardly extending arm pivotally engaged -by the inner end of a push rod I4 carrying on its outer end a push button I5 slidable in and normally projecting forwardly from the bar 8. It is preferred to form each lever I 3 oi a length of wire bent to an elongated U-form, the free ends of such length forming an eyelet engaged by the corresponding push rod I4, and the yoke end of the lever being normally spaced slightly from the rear edge of a corresponding record and having a slight rearward bend as indicated at I E to straddle such record in ejecting the latter. It is preferred to fulcrum the entire set of levers I3 Ion .a single rod I'I extending substantially from end to end of the upper strip 9 and mounted in screw eyes I8 inserted in said strip. 'I'hese eye screws engage the rod I1 in alternation with the levers I3, thus accurately retaining the levers in their proper working positions and forming spacers between the levers so that actuation of any lever may not tend frictionally to rock the adjoining levers. The work arms of the levers are preferably of an arcuate form such as to avoid contact with the corresponding records except at the lower ends of such arms. To normally maintain the ineifective positions of the described ejectors, coiled springs 20 are disposed above the boards 6 and elongated in approximate parallelism with the push rods, such springs having rear anchorage extensions 2I engaging the upper ends of the levers I3 and front extensions anchored upon the board 6 as by brads 22.

In inserting records in said cabinet, the rear portions of the records first engage the wire guide elements I2 and owing to the slight divergency of said elements to the sides of the record, this engagement is established only at the rims of the records so that there will result no wear nor obliteration of the sound track faces of the records. The described shape of the guide elements I2 presents the further advantage that the records may initially enter between the mid portions of the elements I2 which afford a relatively wide entry space and as the records progress to their inserted positions they will progressively encounter the narrower portions of the inlets formed by the elements I2, initial insertion of the records thus being facilitated. Since the guides I and I2 are adapted to engage only the rim portions of the records, there will be complete avoidance of any wear on the sound track faces due to use of the described cabinet.

Since the inclined face of the board seating the records is quite gradual it will require only a slight effort applied to any of the push buttons I5 to forwardly eject the corresponding record to the dash line position shown in Fig. 3 and in such position the ejected record may be easily grasped for withdrawal from the cabinet. As best appears in Fig. 1, it is preferred to consecutively number the push buttons I5 upon their front faces and by reference to a suitable index or catalogue the subject matter of the records corresponding to these numbers may be quickly ascertained. It will be noted (Fig. 1) that the push buttons are arranged in upper and lower rows, such rows being staggered. This permits considerably closer proximity between adjoining ejectors than would be permitted if the push buttons formed a single row. Response of the levers I3 to the springs 20 is limited by engagement of the upper portions of such levers with the adjacent strip 9, as is apparent from Fig. 3. The rearwardly projecting ends of the upper guide wires I0 engage between adjacent levers I3 below their fulcrum, and minimize the likelihood of any interference of the levers, one with another.

The described cabinet permits a more compact disposal of disk records in a cabinet than has heretofore been feasible, while fully safeguarding the records from detrimental wear due to insertion and withdrawal from the cabinet. The described ejector mechanism permits any record to be very quickly and easily removed from the cabinet; and further forms by reason of the numbers on the push buttons a simple provision for identifying the various records.

The drawer 3 may receive records in excess of the capacity of the chamber 2 or records too large or too small to properly be held in said chamber, and will conveniently serve various other purposes.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a disk record cabinet having a front opening for inserting and removing records, a record-supporting member in the cabinet having its top face rearwardly extending from said opening at a slight downward inclination, a record-position member upwardly spaced from said supporting member a distance determined by the diameter of records to be received by the cabinet, and having a bottom face substantially parallel to the top face of said supporting member, stop strips extending upon said members along their rear edges and projecting toward each other to limit rearward movement of records, and upper and lower sets of recordspacing wires receding from the front opening of the cabinet in spaced relation to said parallel faces of the members, the rear portions of said wires being set into the stop strips and the forward ends of said wires of each set being bent toward and set into the member carrying such set.

2. In combination with a disk record cabinet having a front opening for inserting and removing records, a record-supporting member extending rearwardly from said opening within the cabinet, a set of record-spacing elements carried by and upstanding from said member and receding from said opening in a spaced relation determined by the thickness of records to be received by the cabinet, means for limiting rearward insertion of records between said elements, and a set of elements for guiding records to positions between said spacing elements, said guiding elements being elongated substantially'vertically across the front opening of the cabinet" and being spaced transversely of said opening to form passages for the records, each of said elements comprising two slightly divergent, elongated members crossed substantially midway of their height, whereby said passages have a maximum width at their mid portions and a gradually reduced width above and below the mid portions.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2, said guiding elements being engaged with and anchored to said spacing elements.

4. A record ejector comprising a lever formed by a length of wire bent to an elongated approximate U-shape, the legs of said lever forming eyelets between their ends for fulcruming the lever and the yoke end of the lever being adapted to straddle a record to be ejected, and an actuator engaging the free ends of said legs.

5. In a storage device for disk records, supporting and positioning means establishing a substantially vertical plane to be occupied by a disk record, a lever pivoted for swinging travel in said plane to marginally engage said record, said lever comprising elongated portions spaced transversely of said plane, and having a return-bent end portion approximately transverse to said elongated portions for straddling the record margin, and means for actuating said lever.

6. In a storage unit for disk records, a recordsupporting member, a record positioning member upwardly spaced from said supporting member a distance determined by the diameter of records to be received by the unit, a set of record-ejecting levers pivoted on one of said members and individually effective on individual records.' actuating means for said levers, and a set of elongated record-spacing elements mounted on one of said members, having end portions projecting beyond such mounting member and between the levers to avoid interference between mutually adjoined levers.

HERBERT BAKER. 

